MCD Election 2017: The elections to the three municipal corporations will be held on April 23.
The elections to the three municipal corporations in the National Capital will be held on April 23. The civic body elections are being seen as a popularity test for the Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party which lost the Rajouri Garden seat to the BJP in the by-elections, for the BJP, these elections are a prestige issue - the party will be looking to return to power for a third consecutive term. The Congress, which has failed to win a single seat in the last two elections held in Delhi, is banking on its 15-year long rule in the union territory between 1998 to 2013. AAP's entry has transformed the bipolar election into an intense three-way contest.
Here is all you need to know about the three-way contest for Delhi's civic bodies:- The elections will take place on April 23 and counting will take place three days later - on April 26. Over 272 councillors - NDMC and SMDC have 104 seats each, while the EDMC (64) seats - are trying their luck in the elections
- Their fate will be decided by 1,32,10,206 electorates - of these 73,15,915 include men, 58,93,418 women and 793 voters in the other category.
- North MCD has 42 seats reserved for woman, while South MCD has 45 seats, East MCD has 27 seats reserved for women.
- Swaraj India, the new political party led by Yogendra Yadav and Prashant Bhushan will also make its political debut with the civic body elections.
- This will also be the first time that the voters will be able to use the "None of the Above" (NOTA) option.
- The State Election Commission has also increased the expenditure limit for a candidate from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 5.75 lakh.